It’s been THREE YEARS since I last posted a series of budget-friendly inspiration boards – how did that happen?! Needless to say, I thought it was high time to bring them back!

When I was imagining this cake and ice cream inspiration board, I couldn’t help but think of my friend Jordan over at Oh Happy Day, who is always creating and posting the most cheerful and charming parties and ideas – lots of the ideas for this board came directly from her posts, hence the name of this cake-and-ice-cream wedding board! Also, my birthday was yesterday, so I have cake and ice cream on the brain.

The Idea: It might seem odd to take inspiration from a child’s birthday party for a wedding, but in my mind, nothing says happy like cake and balloons (ice cream cones and party hats don’t hurt either)! One of the biggest expenses in any wedding budget is food, so this twist on the traditional cake and punch reception is a great way to save.

The Paper: Get your guests in the mood to celebrate with a confetti save-the-date. Print information directly on a translucent vellum envelope ($15 for 100 here), and fill it with multi-colored paper circles in various shapes (punches available at Paper Source and Michael’s).

The Fashion: It’s a party, so naturally you’ll want to wear a sassy party dress! A short dress is likely to cost less than longer bridal options – this polka dotted number by Sarah Seven is $770 – and since they don’t scream bridal, you might even be able to wear it again.

The Decor: Fill the entire room with balloons to create a big impact for low cost. To keep the look sweet, but not cheesy, stick with one pale color, or even all white. En masse, something as simple as balloons can look sophisticated or even expensive, like in this Martha Stewart Weddings story.

The Flowers: Bridal and bridesmaid bouquets do double duty when placed in vases on the cake table. Here I’ve imagined cheerful poppies, but any flowers in the appropriate color scheme will be lovely and allow you to save on floral decorations.

The Food: Save money by skipping a full meal, like Ashley and Dusty did. Hold the reception at a time of day that allows guests to eat beforehand or in between the ceremony and reception. You can offer savory snacks, too, if you like, but it’s perfectly okay to serve just cake, ice cream, and soft drinks as long as it’s clear on your invitations – you don’t want guests to arrive expecting to eat lunch or dinner. Worried it won’t seem special enough? Set up a pretty display table for the cake or cakes, and find out if your local ice cream shop has a cute catering cart available to rent.

Other Details: How adorable is this little plastic lion with the party hat? (Yet another cute idea seen on Oh Happy Day.) You can spray paint the animals so they’re all one color, or leave them as they are, then tape tiny party hats on them. As with the balloons, a simple item that’s elevated to something special and unexpected when used en masse. And of course if the toy animals have party hats, shouldn’t the guests have them too? Decorate simple party hats with tissue paper flowers and fringe like Jordan did in this DIY project (you can make the hats yourself, or buy them for pretty cheap from party supply stores).

Thanks for sharing this, super cute and gives me inspiration for my wedding :) I’m on a super tight budget and plan on crafting most of the things myself. I going with a winter wonderland themed wedding and found these awesome Stardream envelopes http://www.jampaper.com/Envelopes/StardreamMetallicEnvelopesPaper what do you think,? I didn’t want to have translucent because of the information we are sending in the mail. I felt like you would be able to see through it too much.